1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a multi-directional switch device capable of operating an operation shaft formed integrally with an operation knob in multiple directions, and more particularly, to a multi-directional switch device which is appropriate as an input operation unit of a power mirror device mounted in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many vehicles in recent years, a power mirror device which electrically performs folding-in and folding-out operations of side mirrors attached on the left and right of a vehicle body, a visual angle adjustment operation, and the like is generally mounted. Typically, the input operation unit of such a type of power mirror device includes a switch mechanism for selecting any of the left and right side mirrors, a switch mechanism for adjusting the visual angle by tilting the mirror surface of the selected side mirror, and a switch mechanism for simultaneously switching the left and right side mirrors between the folded-in state and the folded-out state.
However, in a case where a switch device used as the input operation unit of the power mirror device is configured so that the three types of switch mechanisms described above are individually operated by different operation knobs, the entirety of the switch device is increased in size, and thus the space factor thereof is degraded. Moreover, when a continuous operation is performed, a finger should be moved to a different operation knob, and thus operability is degraded. Therefore, there is a device in which two types of switch mechanism from among the three types of switch mechanism are made to use an operation knob in common and the three types of switch mechanisms are selectively operated by a total of two operation knobs. However, in consideration of usability, it is convenient to selectively operate the three types of switch mechanisms using a single operation knob, and this easily enhances the space factor of the entirety of the switch device. However, in a case where a single operation knob is used in common for the three types of switch mechanisms, an operation method of each of the switch mechanisms is not clearly distinguished, and thus an operation error easily occurs.
Hitherto, a multi-directional switch device which is configured so that a pressing operation, a rotating operation, and a tilting operation are selectively performed on an operation shaft to which an operation knob is attached, folding-in and folding-out operations of side mirrors are achieved by the pressing operation, selection of the left and right side mirrors is achieved by the rotating operation, and visual angle adjustment of the side mirrors is achieved by the tilting operation is proposed (for example, refer to JP-A-2001-291456).
In the multi-directional switch device according to the related art, when the operation shaft is pressed in the axial direction, a first slider is integrally pressed down, and thus a movable contact held in the first slider comes into contact with a fixed contact provided in a wafer on a side, thereby outputting a command signal for allowing the folding-in or folding-out operation of the left and right side mirrors. In addition, when the operation shaft is rotated when the side mirrors are in the folded-out state, a rotation member integrally rotates, and thus a movable contact held in the rotation member comes into contact with a fixed contact provided on one surface of a circuit board, thereby outputting a mirror selection signal for selecting any of the left and right side mirrors according to the rotation operation direction of the operation shaft. In addition, when the operation shaft is tilted when the side mirror is selected, a second slider driven by the operation shaft linearly slides along the circuit board, and thus a movable contact held in the second slider comes into contact with a fixed contact provided on the other surface of the circuit board, thereby outputting a visual angle adjustment signal for tilting the mirror surface of the selected side mirror in a tilt direction of the operation shaft.
However, in the multi-directional switch device disclosed in JP-A-2001-291456, not only three members (the first slider, the rotation member, and the second slider) that are individually linked with three types of operations (the pressing operation, the rotating operation, and the tilting operation) performed on the operation shaft but also a wafer in addition to a circuit board are needed. Moreover, a cam mechanism, which uses an engagement pin and a return spring is needed to lock the operation shaft during the pressing operation or automatically return the operation knob, resulting in an increase in the number of components. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to achieve a reduction in cost. In addition, depth dimensions (height dimensions) have to be secured so that the operation shaft is able to be pressed in the axial direction, and a space for assembling the wafer and the like to the side of the first slider has to be secured. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to achieve a reduction in the size of the entirety of the switch device.